Thursday, September 9, 2010

Thursday TV/Media Notes

Here are some items from the week of interest to NASCAR fans:

Darrell Waltrip returns to SPEED this weekend as he joins the Trackside crew on Friday night for a one hour show that airs at 11PM ET. Krista Voda will be the show host. Marcos Ambrose and Martin Truex Jr. will be the guests.

Elliott Sadler steps aside to make room for DW. This is the only SPEED program for Waltrip this weekend, Kyle Petty is working Race Day and Victory Lane with Kenny Wallace.

SPEED's Randy Pemberton is going to have a memorable Thursday. This was his most recent Facebook posting:

OK, Surgery at 7:30 am on Thursday. Spinal fusion of S1-L5-L4. Rods, screws, the whole nine yards.without it I can't walk 25 yards without kneeling down. Can't wait! A few days in the hospital n home. It's not a slam dunk so, if you feel inclined, a little prayer tonight could be the difference! Thanks all....

Good luck to Randy on his surgery and recovery. Hope to see him back on SPEED soon.

Ray Evernham joins the ESPN team this weekend for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races. He will be in the Infield Pit Studio with Allen Bestwick, Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty.

Update: Thanks to all the readers who passed along the information that Dover was in fact the first race after the 9-11 attacks. SPEED was just a bit off in the media release. The feature will be on how NASCAR regrouped after that fateful day. Thanks again.

Thursday, the final edition of Race Hub on SPEED this week, will feature a Tony Stewart interview and Hermie Sadler will update activity from the Richmond International Raceway. Pretty stellar job by Steve Byrnes of taking this series and making it his own over the past several weeks.

Unlike last weekend, ESPN2 has all the practice and qualifying coverage on Friday. The breaks between sessions will be filled with "NASCAR Now" programs, but with the Nationwide Series race that night it is going to be a very long day for Marty Reid, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree.

There will be more channel flipping for fans this Saturday as the Sprint Cup Series race is once again on ABC. Mike Massaro and Ricky Craven will offer the 9AM preview edition of NASCAR Now on ESPN2. Race Day on SPEED hits the air at 5PM and the ABC pre-race show begins at 7PM ET.

The ABC schedule has 11PM to 11:30PM scheduled as a post-race show. The wrap-up edition of NASCAR Now on ESPN2 airs at 12:30AM ET. To make matters even more complicated, SPEED is going to try Victory Lane at 11:30PM. The TV schedules could get very interesting should the race go just a little bit long.

Any additional TV or media updates will be posted right here. Check back for updates. In the meantime, please feel free to leave a comment on any of the topics listed above. Thanks for taking the time to stop by The Daly Planet.

See, now I find DW as annoying as anyone, but I like him on Trackside. It's the only place I want him to be. It's a more casual show and they don't let him take over (much as he might try.)

Wishing luck to Randy P; hope all goes well--those Pemberton boys have done okay for a bunch of guys from upstate, lol. I know a few people who've had back surgery, and they always say they wish they'd done it sooner; I think it's just a scary proposition up front.

It looks like the weather will be okay this weekend, and not too hot, so hopefully the race will end on time. Wish I was going, sigh. But I hope red & others have a good time and send some pix so we can live vicariously through you...

Richmond is my favorite track, I hope the broadcasters don't mess it up. But...it was not the first race after 9/11. I was there at that race, it was the weekend before. I'll never forget it, I passed by Richard petty on a motorbike & he waved at us. Anyways, wasn't it Dover? Cause they cancelled Louden?

Yep, Trackside is toast for this weekend. At least the weather is still nice. I'll take a pass, Speed. Maybe if enough folks do the same they will get the message. Any shilling Waltrip is too much to endure!!!

Anon @ 3:17, my cable box shows Fargo's WDAY planning to show the 6 PM news instead of Countdown. Last year they threw the switch halfway through the opening prayer after an unhurried half-hour newscast and an overly-long football game, and when I complained I got the sense that they'd have intruded even more into the race broadcast if it hadn't been for a slight weather delay at the track.

Thanks for the warning about DW being on trackside.Now we will know that show is to be scratched from our schedule.It's hard to believe that Fox/Speed cannot see why their programming is taking a hit.They must be getting this guy really cheap but it is costing them in the long run.

Won't watch anything with either of the two Waltrips in it for obvious reasons. It really is amazing how lost the NA$CAR "media" is when it comes to covering racing. No worries though, the NFL is here!